Photograph of a poster in Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke created ‘Foreign Exchange’ for the Birmingham 2022 Festival. He reimagined the sculpture of Queen Victoria in the city centre, surrounding the bronze statue with a boat containing five smaller Queen Victorias. Each wears a helmet and carries a medal relating to an important colonial battle. Hew Locke described the statue ‘leading a battalion of other statues to represent the home nation throughout the Empire’. After the Festival he generously donated the five smaller Queen Victorias to the city.*
*Information from a signboard next to the Victorias
Did you know that British Malaya contributed the most (more than 70%!) foreign exchange earnings to the Empire?! More than all the other colonies combined.